I Love "The Raj"

I always try and provide unique information on this blog. These efforts generally direct me towards newer products or obscure, but important, information. In doing so, I hope to improve knowledge and help people to understand and create better cocktails. Additionally, one of the things I am learning about blogging is how much you can learn by investigating issues further in an effort to write better posts (the “Deadly Russian Vodka Crisis” post floored me when I was researching it). However, sometimes, you just want to talk about something that you love and want others to try as well.

I love gin. I love it on the rocks, with tonic, and mixed in my favorite cocktails. I enjoy all types of gin from those that manage to package pure juniper in a bottle to those that orchestrate a complex symphony of herbs and spices. However, if I had to pick just one gin to drink for the rest of my life, I would choose Old Raj. It is an amazing gin with so much to offer. If you have never tried it, you need to do so!

Old Raj is a Scottish dry gin that packs a punch. Unlike most gins, Old Raj carries an alcohol content of 55 percent which would seemingly threaten to cover the complexity of the spirit. However, the gin’s flavors are wonderfully extensive. The reason why I love Old Raj is because it combines so many different flavor types. Some gins (Citadelle is a good example) combine numerous ingredients, but the choices can be too similar, creating a gin with dominant herbal flavors for example. The result can be gins that are one-dimensional. Old Raj provides a gin with noticeable juniper, spices, herbs, and floral tones. The diversity of the flavors in Old Raj is unparalleled, but somehow manages to work together well. Most notable is the presence of saffron which not only gives Old Raj its yellow color, but also provides a trademark flavor.

The best attribute of Old Raj is that it is a universal gin. Sometimes, gin can work well in some cocktails and be horrible in others. Other gins work well independently, and some need to be mixed. Most importantly, certain gins are awesome in martinis, but other gins seem created for the “Postmodern Gin Movement”, which focuses on expanding gin beyond juniper and the spirit’s traditional use in martinis. I have created the term “Postmodern Gin Movement” since my last rant on Tanqueray Rangpur. I like it; you heard it here first. For more information on which gins work best in martinis, check out Eric Asimov’s article on martinis in the New York Times today. I have found that Old Raj works well in each of these situations and has the potential to add so much to cocktails because of its varied flavor profile.

There – I just wrote about something I really liked. That felt great! If you try Old Raj, you will experience a similar feeling. Wow, that whole post made me want some of the “Raj” right now. Unfortunately, I’m out. The stores are closed. I now have plans for tomorrow.

 

By the way, my claim to love “The Raj” should be taken as a term of endearment and in no way should be interpreted as support for colonialism. Me and Ghandi are still cool.

Tanqueray Rangpur Gin - Giving Rangpur a Bad Name

As Tanqueray Rangpur is starting to spread across the country, I finally decided to try some and see if it could live up to all the hype. If honestly is a trend on this blog, let’s just get it out there – BAD gin. I didn’t like it neat, on ice, or with tonic. Usually, gin works well in one of these ways if it is a good product, but this gin was just plain awful!

For the record, I am not a gin-Nazi. By this, I mean that I don’t spend all day obsessing about the degrees of juniper in the flavor profiles to determine whether the label “gin” is appropriate. This accusation against more subtle, non-traditional gins being classified inappropriately seems pointless. Do you like the spirit? Can you mix it? Who cares what it is called then! I like traditional style gins like Tanqueray and other lightly-flavored gins like Bombay Sapphire, so I was ready to accept Tanqueray Rangpur’s taste as part of the new gin movement towards lighter more diverse flavors.

Instead, the gin violates all the rules of this movement. Newer gins are becoming successful because of the complexity they exhibit through numerous unconventional ingredients. Most of all, they blend these flavors together well to produce gins that are balanced and not overpowering. This alternative approach to gin works well because it competes with the dominance of juniper in most traditional gins. Tanqueray Rangpur claims this balance, but unfortunately, the rangpur flavors are so overwhelming that the promising use of ginger and other spices is lost. Even if only compared to other flavored spirits, I find the rangpur to not only be too dominant, but displeasing as a flavor as well. The use of lime in gin and tonics accentuates the refreshing nature of this drink, but the rangpur is anything but refreshing because of its overly bold taste.

As a bartender that strives to have knowledge of everything on the shelf (and those that will never make my shelf – like this gin), I had to try Tanqueray Rangpur. It is nice to know how far the reformation movement in gin can go without ruining the spirit. Now we know. What’s most disappointing about the gin is that it had so much potential. If the spices were allowed to take hold of the gin more, perhaps I would like the gin. If you want to try another gin that takes the alternative gin concept and does well, try North Shore’s Distiller’s Gin No.6. If you want a more mainstream gin, stick to Bombay Sapphire - it’s a much better gin, especially with tonic and a lime, rangpur if you like. The taste of fresh rangpurs is awesome in a G&T, but that’s not how you Tangueray.

A Note to Tony Sinclair: You annoy me and make me not want to drink Tanqueray ever again. It is no coincidence that since you showed up Tanqueray has started producing bad spirits like Tanqueray Rangpur. I have a bottle of Tanqueray on my shelf; if you want me to buy another, you should respectfully step down from your position and remind Tanqueray that they were great before you.

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